Two Christian Girls Gang Raped By Four Muslims, Victim Family Pressurised To Withdraw Police Complain

(NOTE: Real names of the victims and pastor have been withheld for security purposes.)

FAISALABAD: Two Christian girls gang raped at gun point, victimised family being pressurised not to press charges against the perpetrators

Victim girls are traumatised

According to details, the family of the two Pakistani Christian teenagers, who were gang-raped at gunpoint by four men, claims that they are being harassed and threatened by influential people in their village. Moreover, they say that they are being pressurised not to file complain against the attackers.

The incident reportedly took place on December 3 when 16-year-old Shazia and 14-year-old Noor went outside of their house in the village of Jaranwala during the middle of the night to go to the bathroom, as there are no bathrooms inside the house. When the girls went outside, they did not return. Consciously anxious over long absence of the girls, the family filed a missing person’s complaint with the local police. After the police search was underway both of them were found next afternoon, laying unconscious along the side of the road several miles away from their village. The girls who were in awful condition were taken to a hospital. After they regained their consciousness they told the police that a familiar local landlord and three other men had forcibly taken them at gunpoint and raped them.

According to a police official, “In their statement to the police the girls alleged that a local landlord Muhammad Shabaz and his three accomplices abducted them at gunpoint and took them to a deserted place where they ‘gang-raped us.'” One of the alleged rapists Shahbaz has already in police custody.

A local pastor named Naveed, who is trying to scrape together legal aid and assistance for the poor Christian family. Pastor Naveed told that the men threatened to shoot the girls if they did not go with them. Once they got to the isolated location, the men gang-raped them “many times.”

Pastor Naveed explained that alleged rapist Shahbaz and his three accomplices were all Muslim and had formerly been accused of rape by another local Christian family in the village. He revealed that formerly affected Christian family compromised on a settlement after being pressured by influential locals and dropped the complaint. He expressed doubts that the victims Shazia, Noor and their family will continue to face the same pressure to settle the case out of court.